SAMPSON VETERANS MEMORIAL CEMETERY TO OPEN JULY 30th

After years of work and planning, the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery will officially open in less than 30 days.

On Saturday, July 30th, New York State Senator Michael Nozzolio, Assemblyman Brian Kolb and Seneca County Board of Supervisors Chairman Chuck Lafler will join with area veterans, leaders of local, statewide and national veterans organizations, current and past members of the military, local, state and federal elected officials, community leaders, members of the Seneca County Industrial Development Agency/Economic Development Corporation and members of the Seneca County Board of Supervisors to dedicate the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery in a ceremony beginning at 11:00 in the morning. 

The ceremony will feature a “Wall of Honor” paying tribute to the more than 60 veterans who will be the first veterans laid to rest at the memorial cemetery. The wall will include photographs and personal stories of each veteran’s courageous
service to our Nation.

“Our veterans have given so much to protect and preserve the freedoms that we enjoy each and every day.  The time is long overdue to fully recognize and pay tribute to their courage, commitment and dedication to the ideals we cherish in this Country,” said Senator Nozzolio. “As we approach July 4th and the anniversary of our Nation’s independence, it is especially fitting that we pause to celebrate those individuals who defended our County’s freedom over these past 235 years, and begin plans to dedicate the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery as a final resting place for our military heroes. The day we dedicate the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery will be a day of recognition for our veterans and the sacrifices that they made for our Country.”

The Seneca County Industrial Development Agency/Economic Development Corporation (IDA/EDC) has contracted with Seneca County to oversee and manage the day to day operations of the cemetery.  The IDA/EDC will also work in conjunction with Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery Committee to secure both public and private support for cemetery, as well as the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery Association to help manage the operational needs.

“Many should be thanked for their significant contributions to this project. Deserving special thanks should be the Seneca County IDA/EDC, the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery Association, as well as the members of their committees and the many veterans who have worked to make this final resting place--- in the shadow of Waterloo, the nationally recognized Birthplace of Memorial Day--- a reality for our Nation's veterans.  We have overcome a great many obstacles and worked together with Seneca County officials, to finally reach our objective in creating the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery,” said Senator Nozzolio.

New York State Senator Mike Nozzolio, along with members of the  Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery Association worked extremely hard for over a decade, and overcame a number of hurdles to establish the 162 acre cemetery, adjacent to the Sampson State Park, as a lasting memorial to those who answered the call of duty, and served their Nation with honor and dignity.

As the former Naval and Air Force base where over a million sailors and airmen were trained in preparation for battle, Sampson is unique and hallowed ground. Constructed in 1942 on the shores of Seneca Lake, the base is named after Rear Admiral

William T. Sampson, a hero of the Battle of Santiago in the Spanish American War who was born in Wayne County. The Sampson base served as a naval training station during World War II and was later used as an Air Force Basic Training Center. The Veterans’ Cemetery is also a short distance from Waterloo, New York, the Nationally-recognized birthplace of Memorial Day.

All honorably discharged veterans, their spouses and dependent children will be eligible for burial at the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery.  The guidelines for the cemetery will be based on national federal veteran cemetery standards. There are about 200,000 veterans living in the Finger Lakes region.

The dedication ceremony will be located at the Sampson Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, just south of Sampson State Park along Route 96A in Romulus. That portion of Route 96A has been officially renamed the “Sampson Veterans Memorial Highway” to further memorialize all veterans, and in particular the men and women who trained and served at the Sampson Air Force and Naval Base.

To learn more about the Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery, you can visit www.sampsonveteranscemetery.com or go to the cemetery’s Facebook page here.